


A Dragon's Court

by Forsake_Seer_XIV



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:14:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22411603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Forsake_Seer_XIV/pseuds/Forsake_Seer_XIV
Summary: "Only a Shimada can control the dragons" but they, in turn, have a say in the lives of their Shimada masters.
Relationships: Genji Shimada/Original Female Character(s), Hanzo Shimada/Original Female Character(s), Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada, Jesse McCree/Hanzo Shimada/Original Female Character(s), Jesse McCree/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Steph

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ivorycrawler](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ivorycrawler/gifts).



Japan was a beautiful place. Steph would fully admit that much, even if she were in the middle of a city and utterly lost.

Well, no, that wasn’t true. She wasn’t  _ lost _ . Not really. She had the address to her hotel and a translator app on her phone. While she didn’t want to trust the translator on her phone - not everything would translate accurately - it would be far more accurate than the rudimentary bit of Japanese that she  _ did _ know.

Running a hand through her hair, Steph gave a soft hum as she looked around the area that she was in. People were roaming the streets, chatting to each other or on their phones, browsing the windows for possible goods that they were thinking about getting either for themselves or someone else and others she could visibly see carrying around bags from successful shopping trips.

It made her smile slightly, remembering that she had promised to get her friend, Ducky, some sort of souvenir while she was here. Of course, the sight of all the people brought up the reason why  _ she _ was alone in a foreign country with not a single familiar face to help her keep the loneliness at bay.

The memory had the smile transforming into a scowl and she gave a small scoff, dropping her hand to her side and trying, rather desperately, to not clench it into a fist. 

She was fine, and even if she wasn't she was here, in Japan, for a vacation. So why the hell was it that she couldn't let unimportant shit go after she had done more than her fair share of the leg work?

Steph knew the answer already, but that didn't make the sting any less painful. 

Sighing, she turned and started off down the street, shoving her hands into her pockets and making her way towards where her broken understanding of Japanese had informed her would be a museum of some sort.

The streets were full of people, but with her mind the way it was, she was able to pick out the families. They were cheerfully laughing together, some were holding hands and others were holding the hands of their child or children. Others were pointing things out to each other, cooing over something while others pointed things out just to laugh together.

It made her ache, seeing the families.  _ No _ , Steph thought.  _ It's not a new ache. It's been there. I'm just noticing it. _

Again.

Privately, she admitted it was pathetic, to want something that she knew she couldn't have. On top of that, she also knew that it was an impossibility.

Giving her head a small shake, Steph looked at where her feet had taken her to. Just from how the building looked, she would say she was in front of a cafe of some sort. A look in through the window confirmed the sight of people at tables with various types and assortment of drinks either in hand or on table as they went about reading, talking, or cruising their laptops. It looked nice enough, but she wasn’t in the mood for drinks of any sort, and with that thought in mind, Steph turned and started down the street again, looking for some sort of outdoor vendor that could give her a small snack.

Of course, this was Japan, and just based on what she had seen in the passed two days, she knew that street vendors weren’t a normal thing here. Not like how they were in America or even in South Korea during the one time she had lived there. So the best she was going to get were maybe some sort of quick, in and out cafe like the one she had just passed.

As if to prove her wrong, she soon found herself in front of a stand that looked like it was selling something meat based on a stick. Somehow or another she managed to speak with the vendor and within five minutes she was walking away with the stick thing, letting her feet guide her towards something else.

The flavor of the stick snack was… it was quite easily something she wasn’t used to. It was tender, but at the same time required chewing, and had a small burst of flavor with each bite that the only thing she would say for certain about it was that soy sauce was involved.

Her musing were interrupted when an arm got thrown around her shoulders and a voice - young, Japanese, male,  _ loud _ \- was suddenly in her ear. She jabbed her elbow sharply into him and turned, twisting out of the loose grip in order to see just who it was that had, well, grabbed her.

During her time in Japan she had seen a few odd things, but the way this guy - she was more tempted into calling him ‘boy’ than ‘man’, if only because of how  _ young _ he looked. But Asian genetics tended to have the people looking younger than their actual age - looked told her that he was, perhaps, the oddest person she would ever meet in Japan.

Like herself, his hair was dyed, but unlike her bright, vibrant red, his was a bright, vibrant green that bordered on a shade of neon. For some reason he wore a white  _ gi _ , a traditional martial arts uniform that she only recognized due to her childhood, that had it’s sleeves torn off. If she wasn’t mistaken, embroidered onto the right side was one of Kindred’s mark, a character from League of Legends.

As if there needed to be anything else to be ‘over the top’ with this guy, he was wearing a headband from the old anime series,  _ Naruto _ \- yes, she was a nerd and a bit of an anime lover, so what? - that, if she remembered right, was the same style as the protagonist of that series. And all that was before she talked about what looked like loosely tied on Army boots to complete the so called outfit.

At least he was wincing as he rubbed at his side, where she had elbowed him.

Steph, slowly, pointed the stick snack at him, making sure she never took her eyes off him. “What. The hell?” She could understand if she had been mistaken for someone else, but from the sudden perking up he did at the sound of English, she had her doubts.

“Oh! You are English!” Well color her pink and call her Famous, he spoke fluent English.

“Actually I’m American.” Steph deadpanned as she watched him grin at her. He didn’t seem at all repentant about having startled her, and if anything, he seemed a bit more interested in sticking around than in walking away. “Do you normally accost strangers in the streets?”

The grin was replaced with a started expression, his lips parting slightly. “I did not  _ accost _ you!” She simply raised an eyebrow at him, watching him slowly flush, as if he was slightly embarrassed and was now trying to save face.

“Accost, a verb, to either boldly or aggressive approach someone.” Steph doubted that she got the definition  _ right _ , but words were something that were  _ hers _ , the only thing she took pride in, so she was willing to believe that she was at least  _ close _ with its definition.

His expression told her what he thought of hearing the definition come from her and she straightened, bringing the stick snack up to her mouth to nibble on. “Okay, so I  _ accosted _ you. But I didn’t mean any harm from it!”

He was gesturing with his hands and, vaguely, Steph got the feeling that he was physically expressive. Which was odd from what she had seen of Asians… well, of the Asians whose country she had actually visited, namely South Korea and Japan.

“ _ Right _ . Some strange guy comes up to me, a person that does not know him and grabs them,” she drawled out casually, ignoring the way his eyes focused on her mouth. No, she figured she had a good enough idea of what he was aiming for, and she wanted no part of it. Might be overly cautious of her, paranoid even - he could be watching for the sake of furthering his ability to speak English, and not secretly thinking about how to kiss her for example - but Steph had grown up in an area, with family, where being overly cautious had been the only thing that kept her from a beating. 

“Right. My apologies.” He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away and towards the ground, clearly looking sheepish. “I did not mean to… surprise you.” His hesitance with the word made her lips twitch in amusement. Despite sounding fluent, he didn’t seem confident with the language.

Suddenly he grinned at her and Steph couldn’t help but start slightly in surprise, drawing her head back as he shoved his hand out between them, clearly intending for a handshake. “My name is Genji.”

_ Persistent little ankle biter, aren’t you? _ Steph was well aware of her thoughts, about how her instincts - something that had become so honed as to almost act as quiet whisper in the back of her head - was both growling at him and yet tilting its head in confusion. She didn’t know the reason for the confliction, but she knew enough to know that it would probably be a bad idea to give him a real name.

“Stephanie.” She didn’t respond to it as readily as she did to ‘Steph’, but it  _ was _ a name she responded to. Plus it was English and would stand out from the sea of Japanese around her.

Even as she watched him carefully mutter her name under his breath, she took his hand and gave it a single shake - it was only polite, after all - before she tried to drop it.

‘Tried’, because his grip was a great deal stronger than she had expected and, with an impish grin, he bowed over her hand and brushed his lips against her knuckles. She didn’t need a mirror to know that she was gapping at him, at his sheer  _ audacity _ to try and be  _ chivalrous _ like the knights of Old England.

He still didn’t let go of her hand as he stood back up, an innocent, if confused, expression on his face. “Something wrong? Is that not how people are greeted in America?”

_ You. Little. Shit. _ She might have believed he was confused, if she hadn’t seen the amusement in his eyes. “Not in this day and age.” She was half tempted to add ‘boyo’ to it, but rather doubted that he’d appreciate being mocked with incorrect words and their uses. “I’d like my hand back now.”

In response, his thumb brushed over her knuckles, where the feel of his lips still lingered. The  _ way _ he brushed it though, had her feeling her face start to warm and she yanked her hand out of his. To stop herself from making a rather snappish retort, she took a bite from the snack, but her eyes narrowed on him, this Genji, when he gave her another impish grin.

“What is an American like yourself doing here?” An innocent enough question, but Steph just didn’t like his expression.

“Vacation.” It was a short answer, clipped really, and she turned, making it clear that she intended to leave to continue it when she felt him grab her wrist.

“Wait.” She slowly turned to look at him, ignoring the way his fingers seemed to fully wrap around her wrist. Steph knew she was small compared to pretty much everyone she met, but feeling Genji’s fingers  _ almost _ meet around her wrist brought that awareness back to her. It didn’t help that it also made her aware that he had, at the very least, five inches on her, and probably fifty more pounds on his body compared to hers.

His expression was almost serious as he stared down at her, and now that she was suddenly aware of the physical differences between them, she was more than aware of just how much he had to cant his head to look at her. In her mind, her instincts stirred, whispering into her ear that she needed to leave, to get away from him before  _ he _ realized the difference as well.

“Why?” It probably wasn’t the question he was expecting, if the slight furrowing of his eyebrows were anything to go by, but it was gone when she blinked. Part of her wanted to bring her hand up and bite at his fingers, to make him let go. Another part of her want to take the snack-on-a-stick and jab his hand with the pointy end that was now exposed. 

The only reason she didn’t do either, was because not only would it be rude, but it wouldn’t solve the problem of what his  _ other _ hand, his right hand and the dominant hand of over half the world’s population - funny how that statistic didn’t change unless there was a very big religious movement that said ‘left hand is bad!’ happening - would do if she acted.

“Let me show you around Japan. I know the whole of  _ Honshū _ .” That was a word that she didn’t know, and she narrowed her eyes at him, feeling a frown tug at her lips. He took pity on her when she said nothing. “The main island of Japan.”

“Ah.” Even though his fingers wrapped around her wrist, the grip was loose. She could easily pull her wrist out of his grip if she wanted, but…

She was lost in this place. Everything was written in Japanese and this trip had been poorly planned from the start. If she had taken the time to have learned Japanese, or at least learned how to read the damn street signs, she would refuse his offer. 

But she didn’t know Japanese, barely knew enough to get herself a damn  _ snack _ , and that wasn’t even mentioning her  _ lack _ of understanding in regards to the currency. As much as she wanted to listen to her instincts and refuse his offer, she damn well knew that she would need all the help she could get.

While she had been thinking this, he had kept silent. His gaze had stayed on her and contrary to what she had thought, it wasn’t unnerving. He was just… calmly waiting for her answer.

Even if his thumb had started to move against her skin again, creating small tingles that fluttered up her arm at each brush of his thumb against the sensitive patch of skin.

Steph was starting to think that, either the thumb thing was a nervous tick, or it was a sign of what his intentions were. Either way, she would just have to make sure that she kept aware of him and that should ensure that she didn’t end up doing something more than slightly regrettable.

“Alright, fine.” Her answer had him grinning and his eyes lit up. Instead of letting her wrist go, he simply turned and started to drag her along with him.

“There is this place you  _ must _ see! It’s a theater, actually, one of the few that still does the traditional Japanese plays.” And on he jabbered about the theater, most of it flew over her head, but she couldn’t help but smile. 

His intentions might be suspicious, but his excitement was infectious and it didn’t take long before she was jogging along at his side - damn him and his long strides! - instead of trying to find her footing behind him.

And that was how her day went.

When the theater finished, he dragged her to something else that flew over her head, and when that finished, it was to another event, and then another, and it was only when everything was dark and they were leaving a ramen stand that she felt his hand try to slip around her waist.

The happiness she had felt at having  _ enjoyed _ herself for the first time in a long time disappeared and this time  _ she _ was gripping  _ his _ wrist. Her fingers didn’t meet, but she wasn’t looking down to see how far apart they were. Instead, she focused on her grip, making sure that it was tight and she heard a soft sound from him that might have been a hiss.

From pain or disappoint at either her grip or obvious rejection, she didn’t know, but she was going to make it  _ very _ clear, if only to make sure that there was no room for misunderstanding. “I’m not interested in that, Genji.” And she pushed his hand away, twisting so that she could face him and released his hand before taking another two steps backwards, away from him.

His expression was slightly closed off, but nothing told her that he might resort to violence. Still, she made sure that there was a good distance between them, well out of easy reach of them both. 

For a moment, she thought he looked wounded, but his expression cleared and a slight smile touched his face. “I understand.” He held out a hand to her though. “I can guide you back to where you’re staying.”

She looked around, taking in where they were and making note of the strange Japanese characters on the street signs. “I think I can make it back from here.” She tried to smile at him, but she wasn’t all that used to that one action, nor was she used to trying to be friendly, so she stopped before it could turn into a grimace. “Thank you though. I enjoyed today.” Just to make sure that he didn’t take her rejection as something against his character.

His hand dropped, and his smile seemed just a bit disappointed, but he nodded at her. “Hopefully I’ll see you around tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” Steph waved a goodbye at him, turning as she did so and then started to walk off, ending the conversation before he could continue talking her into staying in one place or somehow convincing her into allowing him to walk her back to her hotel room.

She might have enjoyed his presence at her side, but she wasn’t comfortable enough to letting him know even the general  _ building _ she was staying in.

It took her close to an hour to get back, and by the time she was unlocking her room door, she was more than ready to just pass out and sleep for a few hours. However, she  _ had _ made a promise to her friend back State side, and as soon as she got into her room Steph looked at the clock on the bedside table that she had, somehow, managed to switch it from the twenty-four hour system to the twelve hour one.

As it was, in dull red colors it screamed 12:08 am at her and she winced. “No damn wonder I’m tired.” Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair and gathered up her sleep clothes, quickly changing into them.

Taking her worn clothes, she folded them up and shoved them into a bag that she had brought and then flopped onto the bed, hooking up her phone to allow it to charge. Once it dinged at her, she opened up her contacts and found the name of the one person that she had promised to keep in contact with.

Clicking on ‘Ducky’, she started to type, deleted her message, and then started typing again. Something short and to the point would be best for letting her friend know that all things were good and well, at least for one day.

Sent:  So...I met a guy today

It didn’t take long before she got a response and it had her smiling and chuckling as she read it. Trust her friend to be concerned with only one thing and, even through texts, sound so damn excited about it as well.

Received:  Really??? Details!!

Getting comfortable on the bed, Steph started to type up her day, periodically sending it to her.


	2. Chapter 2: Genji

Boredom was something that Genji rather disliked feeling, and today was no different. He had managed to slip out of the Shimada Castle and now he was walking around Hanamura. There was really no clear destination he had in mind and contrary to what his brother thought, it was far too early to go to a bar and start drinking, or even to go to the clubs that he usually frequented.

No, he was looking around for something to do, maybe even some _ one _ .

That would be fun, wouldn’t it? He grinned to himself as he crossed his arms behind his head, walking down the streets of Hanamura towards the business district. The streets would be full and budding with not only businesses, but with people, and he could have his pick of anyone on the streets!

His dragon stirred in his mind, sending along a small sense of loneliness that Genji, immediately, turned away from with a mental scowl. He  _ wasn’t _ lonely! He had Hanzo, his father, his dragon, and everyone in Hanamura! Hell, he even had the clan!

Well, the clan only applied to the missions that he was sent on that he couldn’t wiggle out of by saying something or another about University and due dates. No one needed to know that he always finished his assignments as soon as he could. Most were finished within moments of getting it and others took no more than a week or him to get through when he was truly bored or felt that he needed proof in order to let the clan leave him be.

Of course, that meant that Hanzo had to pick up his slack and Genji  _ did _ feel bad about that. He loved his brother, would always love his brother and he was still trying to figure out how to get his brother to do something that would just let him  _ relax _ !

This time his dragon pulsed with a soft hum of frustration that Genji more than readily agreed with. 

He tried, multiple times, to get his brother out of the castle and to do  _ something _ that would be relaxing. Genji would be lying if he said that he  _ wasn’t _ still trying, but everything from the clubs to the bars, to women that Genji would subtly send his brother’s way, none of it was working and only seemed to frustrate Hanzo all the more.

He paused when his dragon asked him a hesitant question, as if unsure if the possibility should ever be brought up, even between the two of them. Once he heard the question, truly heard it, Genji wanted to gape, to turn around and storm into his brother’s room and demand an answer to it.

But he knew that would be  _ the _ single worst thing he could ever do.

No, if he wanted an answer to that question, he would have to watch his brother, see just who it was that he interacted with, who it was that he seemed even  _ slightly _ friendly towards. If his answer was what he  _ thought _ it was now that he and his dragon were both thinking about it, then he would have to ensure that it remained hidden, to make sure that the clan was still under the impression that Hanzo was just trying to focus on his own University degree - honestly, what sane man went after  _ three _ degrees at the same time? There was a  _ reason _ he firmly believed that his brother needed to take a break or just find something that he found relaxing - as well as the clan duties that he was slowly taking over from their father.

His dragon keened softly at the thought of their father and Genji had to fight to not let the pang he felt in his heart echo on his face. Shimada Sojiro was many things, could hide many things from even the Elders, but he could not hide the fact that his health was failing him.

Nor could anyone say that Genji had started his… ‘shameless activities’ around the same time that both he and his brother had found out that their father - the only parent that Genji could even  _ remember _ having, the one constant in his life that didn’t involve the various nannies and babysitters. A tall, proud man that was aging almost beyond his years so quickly that Genji feared that he would end up coming back one day to seeing just a skeleton behind his father’s cherry desk - was slowly breaking under the weight of an illness.

What that illness was, he didn’t know. He knew that Hanzo didn’t know either if the overheard shouting match between the two - that had scared him. More than scared him if he were honest. His brother did  _ not _ yell, at anyone, not even to  _ him _ when they both knew he deserved it, and his father  _ never _ raised his voice to either of his sons outside of the dojo - had been anything to go by.

Whatever it was that was slowly killing Shimada Sojiro, the man was keeping quiet on the matter and refusing to tell anyone. He had even gone so far as to refuse to summon his dragons, knowing that if he did so, that the whole clan would then know not only his state, but also have some sort of clue as to what it was that ailed him.

Genji would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to scream, to cry, to demand answers from his father, but he knew that it would get him nothing. On this matter, and this matter only, he knew that his father would not give in to his tears.

The mere thought of the man and his rapidly fading condition brought the sting of tears to his eyes and Genji shook his head.  _ No, no tears. Not over this. _ His dragon crooned at him, trying to offer him some sort of comfort, but he could  _ feel _ the echo of pain through the spirit that he housed.

Taking a breath, Genji looked around, taking in where he was before he turned and started down one of the main streets that led to one of the popular tourist areas. Why was he going there? Because they had some of the cheaper food stuffs down this way. It was, after all, close to lunch hour and he didn’t want to be bothered by trying to find a bento  _ yatai _ stall in order to get lunch. The other  _ yatai _ stalls, normally, didn’t hold anything of interest for him, which meant…

_ Cafes? _ His dragon asked and Genji was forced to nod. He didn’t  _ want _ to go to a cafe though, they were usually busy - a sign of good business, yes, he knew - but they were also so  _ quiet _ ! If he wanted quiet, he’d go back to the castle and just stroll the hallways!

He froze when he felt his dragon suddenly stir, perking up with curiosity and towards the right, just slightly behind him and, figuring that he would finally have some sort of entertainment for the day - and possibly the night if he played his cards right - Genji turned, letting his eyes scan until he both felt and heard his dragon hum. A sign that he was looking at what had caught his dragon’s attention.

In front of a  _ yatai _ stand, one advertising the sell of  _ dango _ was a woman. She was dressed practically instead of fashionably - a surprise in and of itself. When had he last seen a woman that didn’t care about fashion? - with just loose fitted jeans, a black sweater, and tennis shoes. Of course, his attention was drawn mostly to her hair. It flowed down to just passed her shoulder blades, and was a very bright, very vibrant, shade of red.

While it wasn’t  _ rare _ to see someone in Japan with dyed hair - Genji himself was a perfect example of that, a point he prided himself on - he had just… never seen anyone pull off such a shade that, had it not been so bright, would have actually looked  _ natural _ on a person. As if the color was  _ made _ for them.

_ Her soul… _ Genji frowned, listening to his dragon even as he watched the woman fumble around in just ordering a  _ dango _ stick. It wasn’t like his companion, his best friend, to trail off in confusion like that. His own curiosity peaked, Genji did the only thing he figured he could do in order to get an answer.

He waited until the woman started to walk away, allowed her to get a fair distance away before he jogged up behind her, threw his arm around her shoulders, and then greeted her cheerfully.

Normally, women would jump, maybe scream a bit in surprise, drop what they were holding and give him the perfect opportunity to start winning them over. What women did  _ not _ normally do was, jab him in the ribs with an elbow hard enough to make him take a step back - his dragon was laughing now, the amusement broadcasting and filling his mind to the point Genji was almost certain that it would spill over - and rub his poor ribs.

Immediately, he thought he had ended up approaching someone with training, but when he looked at her, he had to force himself to  _ keep _ thinking. 

Her face was blank, blanker than  _ Hanzo’s _ could be, and it was only her eyes that showed she was even slightly human, a glimmer of surprise reflecting in the dark pools. If he hadn’t seen that, he would have though, for sure, that his dragon had been mistaken and had accidentally sent him after a  _ very _ humanoid Omnic.

As it was, she pointed the  _ dango _ stick at him and the first words out of her mouth surprised him. He had thought she was just another Japanese woman, but her words, the lack of an accent, told him otherwise and he couldn’t stop the  _ excitement _ that welled up in him at hearing the very clear English roll out from between her lips.

“What. The hell?” Not quite the phrase he would have liked hearing from a woman, but at least it was  _ something _ !

“Oh! You are English!” He wanted to kick himself. English? Really? Was  _ that _ the best he could come up with? English was the  _ language _ and referred to the people from… England. Perhaps even Great Britain.

“Actually, I’m American.” Her expression seemed to flatten, somehow, and Genji made a mental note to make sure that she never met his brother. Hanzo was trying to learn how to keep up an expressional facade, and if he  _ ever _ ran into this woman, Genji just  _ knew _ that the whole clan would mistake his brother’s interest as something  _ romantic _ . Her next words startled him back to the present. “Do you normally accost strangers in the streets?”

Genji felt the grin he had plastered onto his face - normally a good sign that he was mentally ‘checking out’ as the saying went - fall as he  _ almost _ gapped at her. Did she-? Was she serious? Was she accusing him of trying to  _ harm _ her? In broad daylight?

His dragon could stop laughing any time now.

“I did not  _ accost _ you!” The woman cocked an eyebrow at him, and he slowly felt himself flush. Why? Why was he flushing? He hadn’t done anything wrong! She had no reason to look at him as if she were one of his nannies that had caught him with his hand in the sweets bag!

“Accost, a verb, to either boldly or aggressive approach someone.” It sounded almost as if she had a dictionary memorized, and for once, Genji found that he didn’t mind being corrected. However, he couldn’t help the way his face started to slip into a rebellious scowl.  _ Okay, fine, that’s what I did, but you don’t have to look like one of my former nannies! _

His eyes went to her lips when she brought the  _ dango _ to her mouth and he had to swallow. She was taking almost dainty bites out of it, and the sight and smell of it reminded him that  _ he _ had been looking for a snack as well before this encounter.

“Okay, so I  _ accosted _ you. But I didn’t mean any harm from it!” He waved his hands about in front of him, hunching over just slightly, as if that would would make his point very clear. He was expressive! It came about from watching everyone else in his family be so…  _ stiff _ and  _ formal _ with each other. Some expressiveness should have rubbed off on them all and he was so  _ very _ glad for the exchange students that he shared classes with over the years. If he hadn’t met them or learned some of their mannerisms, he rather doubted that he would have been able to come across as harmless to this woman.

“ _ Right _ . Some strange guy comes up to me, a person that does not know him, and grabs them.” Okay, taken  _ that _ way, he could see why she had elbowed him. He felt sheepish then, and rubbed the back of his neck, finding his gaze moving away from her.

“Right. My apologizes.” No, that wasn’t enough. “I did not mean to…”  _ Shit, what’s the word? _ “Surprise you.” That didn’t seem like the word he wanted, but it seemed to fit the situation. Speaking of, he needed to salvage it, to see just what it was about this woman that had drawn his dragon’s interest. So, with a grin, he stuck his hand out for a handshake, something he had long since learned was a Western thing. “My name is Genji.”

He didn’t tell her his family name, didn’t want to scare her off, not before he had figured out why his dragon was  _ still _ watching this woman, his head tilted to the side in the back of his mind with his nostrils flaring and twitching. Speaking of his dragon, besides the fading amusement, he hadn’t yet felt ready to share anything else about this woman with him. Which meant that his dragon, also, didn’t know what to make of her. That… that was new to Genji. Normally his dragon could figure out a person rather quickly, would tell him if this was someone that he could spend a night with without any sort of guilt or strings attached, and yet…

Something about this woman was closed off to his dragon and Genji wanted to  _ know _ what it was and how that came to be.

“Stephanie,” she replied at last and it sent a thrill through Genji to  _ finally _ put a name to her face, and he allowed her to shake their hands. When he felt her try to pull away, however, he tightened his grip on her hand and, feeling mischievous, grinned at her as he bowed over her hand, enjoying the startled, slightly gaping look she was giving him now as he brushed his lips against her knuckles.

They were smooth against his lips, a sign that she wasn’t a fighter. At least not recently or within the passed few months. A few years if he wanted to believe she had  _ any _ sort of fighting experience and wasn’t just naturally defensive.

Morphing his face into an innocent expression, he had to fight  _ not _ to laugh at the look that was on her face as he straightened. “Something wrong? Is that not how people are greeted in America?”

_ Why is she here? Far from home. _ His dragon had a point, and he wanted to ask it, it was on the tip of his tongue, but he didn’t want to -

“Not in this day and age.” She looked ready to slap him and Genji couldn’t recall a time when a woman actually IhadI slapped him. “I’d like my hand back now.”

Oh. That’s right. He still had her hand in his. He brushed his thumb along the underside of her wrist, feeling the tendons and the bulge of veins against her skin. The main thing that he was noticing about her was that she seemed so  _ soft _ . 

And yet there was steel in her eyes that had yet to leave no matter how disarming he made himself seem. He almost let out a whine when she snatched her hand out of his and, as if to stop herself from making a retort that would have been more fitting coming from his brother’s mouth, she stuffed part of the  _ dango _ into her mouth.

He couldn’t help but grin impishly at her. She was as much fun to rile up as Hanzo! But now he had an opening. 

“What is an American like yourself doing here?” He made sure that his posture said nothing of the training he had, of the lifestyle he lived, and yet her eyes sharpened on him, as if she  _ knew _ who he was, what he did, what his  _ clan _ did and he felt this burning desire to pick her apart, to learn her secrets, to  _ understand _ why she was so very much like the wolves he had seen on the one trip he had taken to North America for an assignment.

The sharp points, narrowed eyes, and suspicion of all things bipedal in their postures. Well, suspicion up until they had smelled the blood on his weapons, and then they just wouldn’t leave him alone. Teeth bared, vicious snarls, and hunger in their eyes. The whole encounter had reminded him, rather vividly, that the life he lived only worked when he was around humans, maybe even Omnics. To animals, especially those that shared a history with humans, he was the enemy, one that they would not hesitate to remove from the world.

“Vacation.” Her voice was clipped, almost angry, and there was a flicker of it in her eyes -  _ finally _ ! A sign of life besides the surprise from his all too chaste kiss! - and then she was turned away, quite clearly intending to walk away.

Panic of a mild sort welled in him then as well as his dragon’s peaked curiosity, as if to remind Genji just  _ why _ he had been directed at this woman. Without even thinking he had said something and had his fingers around her wrist.

Her pulse jumped a beat or two and then settled again. That was the first thing he noticed. The second was that his thumb was touching his fingers and he wasn’t gripping her tightly  _ at all _ .

Genji would admit to knowing that she was small when he had first approached her, it had been hard to  _ not _ notice that when he had thrown his arm around her shoulders. But now? Now it was thrown into his face in such a way that he simply could  _ not _ ignore.

If he were generous, he’d say she came up to his chin, she had a thin frame, something he hadn’t noticed until just now, with this hand around her wrist, gripping her hand more than her wrist if he were being honest. His dragon rumbled in his mind, and for a moment Genji wanted to question the sudden protective urge his dragon had. But one look at her face and Genji realized she was young. Probably no older than himself, and in a foreign country?

Yes, he understood why his dragon suddenly didn’t want her wandering around on her own.

“Why?” Stephanie spoke and, for a moment, he forgot that he had actually said something to her, but managed to keep his face neutral before his eyebrows could fully come together to show off his confusion. Belatedly, he realized he had asked her to wait. 

“Let me show you around Japan. I know the whole of  _ Honshū _ .” The words rushed out of his mouth, and he wanted to curse himself when she gave him a slightly confused look, no doubt not recognizing his use of Japanese. “The main island of Japan,” he clarified and watched her expression both clear and blank, even as she made a slight sound of acknowledgement.

There was conflict now, in her eyes, and Genji tried not to fidget. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop his thumb from moving against her skin, all but caressing the smooth, soft skin there. He wanted her to accept his offer, to let the people of Hanamura  _ see _ her with  _ him _ . No one would dare strike out against a Shimada, and keeping her at his side would make sure that those that would otherwise wish her harm would think twice about it.

He didn’t mean her any harm, but he also knew that there were others in Japan that wouldn’t think twice about harming her, simply because she wouldn’t know any better.

“Alright, fine.” Her answer had him relaxing and he grinned brightly at her. Immediately, he thought of the nearest place to take her to and, adjusting his grip on her wrist, he turned and started to tug her along.

“There is this place you  _ must _ see! It’s a theater, actually, one of the few that still does the traditional Japanese plays.” He only knew about it because it was the one family tradition that he, Hanzo, and their father still shared and made sure to make, no matter what they might be doing or what they might have planned before and after.

He kept talking about it, the theater and the play, as if it would mean anything to her. It might have been the constant sound of his voice or perhaps his focus on the play, but he felt her relax in his grip and he grinned when, from the corner of his eye, he saw match his strides.

And that was how he kept her occupied for the day. Once the play was finished, he had taken her to another play, this one was much shorter, and then he took her through a small festival, one that was in the early days of it’s set up, so the crowds were still thin enough that he wouldn’t have to elbow through people. They had passed by a  _ Kingyo Sukui _ stall and he was more than tempted to stop and let her try her hand at it, but this festival would still be here for quite some time, and as she had said, she was on vacation.

He doubted that planes would allow her to bring the goldfish back with her when she left, and he was barely home enough to do anything other than sleep - if he wasn’t spending the night at a girl’s place, that is - and see his father and brother at meal times.

Speaking of meals… he had skipped lunch and no doubt Hanzo was now out looking for him. If Genji were honest with himself, he was having a bit too much fun to care. And he hadn’t even gone to a bar or a club yet!

It was fully dark by the time he managed to bring her to his favorite ramen stand. It surprised him, for some reason, to see her use chopsticks with ease. Perhaps he was biased, thinking that, just because she was from America, that she wouldn’t know how to use them. In his mind, his dragon huffed in amusement, but continued to watch her, this ‘Stephanie’. There was something about her soul that his dragon couldn’t pinpoint and that bothered him. 

Through this whole day he had thought his dragon would be able to say  _ something _ about her and yet-

_ Her soul is torn. Shredded. Much sorrow. _ Genji had paused in his eating at his dragon’s words. Of all the descriptions his dragon had ever given in regards to a soul, never before had he heard  _ that _ type of description before.

_ How is that possible? _

_ Much sorrow. No joy. Soul is… better now. Better than the morning. _ Of course his dragon would pick  _ now _ to decide to  _ not _ be clear in what he meant. But even then it was clear enough. He took a large bite of his noodles, looking at her from the corner of his eye. She was savoring each bite of the noodles, and for a moment Genji wished she had come during the winter, when more soup-based items would be available.

_ What can help heal her soul? _ That was… the soul was  _ sacred _ to the dragons, it was how they were able to see the world, the people in it, and then pass judgement on those that their human allies suspected of acting against the clan.. It was, more often than not, why the dragons weren’t able to do anything to Omnic enemies. They couldn’t hunt an enemy that had no soul to track down and devour, but those who were worthy enough to wield the dragons always had a weapon that could hide that weakness.

His dragon sighed and twisted against Genji’s skin hard enough that he gritted his teeth. He knew this feeling, had panicked when it had first happened, but now he was simply used to it. His dragon wanted to come  _ out _ , to experience the world but that wasn’t possible right now and he mentally grabbed the ancient entity, forcefully pulling him  _ back _ .

_ Joy. Happiness. Things that humans take pleasure in. _ Was the grumbled response once the dragon realized that, this time, Genji wasn’t going to give up without an answer.

Genji could work with that. She was interesting enough that he would do this for her, and he figured by now she would agreeable to any advances from him.

So he waited until they were leaving when he tried to slip his hand around her waist. Tried, because her fingers were suddenly, tightly, around his wrist and he only had time to slip his fingers into her pocket and pull out the paper item that he had noticed her keep tracking of throughout the whole day, before she was twisting away from him.

“I’m not interested in that, Genji.” Her tone was firm, made it clear that she wasn’t going to listen to any objections or excuses he could make, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

What stung, though, was that she took a few steps away from him, as if she believed he would lunge at her and take her right there on the ground.

But he had to make himself understand. They had only known each other for part of a day and, despite all the things he had shown her in Hanamura, they were still strangers. So he gave her a gentle smile and held his hand, the one that didn’t have the piece of paper in it, out to her.

“I understand. I can guide you back to where you’re staying.” He did, after all, know Japan, and he most likely knew where it was that she was staying.

Instead of accepting his offer, as he was expecting her to do, she looked around, taking note of the street signs. Her answer told him that, even if she  _ didn’t _ know the way, she still would refuse his offer to help. The smile Stephanie tried to give him was strained, forced, as if she wasn’t used to it and it quickly disappeared.

At least she thanked him, and at least he knew that today had helped mend her soul. Still though, he was curious. How could her soul get to the point that his dragon was almost unable to determine her character? So he said the first thing that came to mind: “Hopefully I’ll see you around tomorrow?”

“Maybe.” She waved goodbye at him and then she was turning, walking away from him. Once she was far enough away, he looked down at the piece of paper he had taken from her pocket and couldn’t help but  _ stare _ at it.

How could he not, when written right there was, without a doubt, the name of the hotel she was staying at, and the number of the room she would be in?

_ Tonight rewards you. _ His dragon purred and Genji sighed, running a hand through his hair.

_ If it did, she wouldn’t be going back alone. _ His groin twitched as he thought about the activities he would be missing out on with her, and it was far too late to find someone in a bar that would be open to his advances that he had not already had.

So, with a sigh, he started back to his family’s estate. No doubt his brother would be equal parts pleased that he was spending the night at home, but displeased that he had spent the time looking for him in various bars and clubs.

He had her hotel and room number, so he  _ would _ be seeing her tomorrow.

_ Even if she attacks you? _ She was far too small to be a threat to him.  _ But not to your organ. _ That… that was actually a terrifying thought that he had never before had.


	3. Steph

Despite the late night, Steph found herself waking up early. She wanted to whine, roll over, and just go back to sleep, but that wasn’t possible since her bladder decided to reminder her that certain bodily functions had still been taking place while she slept.

So with a great deal of grumbling at having to be awake at nine in the morning, Steph rolled out of the bed and proceeded to go about her normal morning routine. Once her bathroom routine was done, she tossed her sleep clothes onto the bed and, after a moment’s debate on what would be reasonable to wear after consulting the weather app on her phone, pulled on another pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt, complete with long socks and doing up the only pair of boots she had brought with her for this trip.

Hiking boots were still boots, and the best part of it was that they were fully broken in! Of course, the only problem with them was making sure that the laces  _ stayed _ tied. Either way, she admired the way she looked in the mirror, making sure that she wouldn’t get odd looks… and then decided why the hell not, she’d put in the extra effort and put her hair up.

That was about as fancy as she felt like being. Makeup was out of the question unless she wanted to look like a raccoon, and the raccoon style was only acceptable for Halloween.

It was barely spring here in Japan, which meant the weather was just barely warm enough to  _ not _ require a winter jacket, so she grabbed one of the jackets she brought with her, pulled it on and, deciding that her fashion sense was still as nonexistent as ever, grabbed her keycard, stuck it into the inside pocket of her jacket - pockets for days! - grabbed her wallet, stuck that into the opposite side’s inside pocket, called it good and walked out of her room, firmly closing the door behind her.

Steph would fully admit that she had enjoyed her time yesterday with… yes, his name was Genji. Well, she had enjoyed having Genji as a tour guide, and she had picked up on a few important Japanese words just from listening to him talk… and that brought up the conversation she had with Ducky.

He was a nice guy with a pleasant sounding voice, but it hadn’t escaped her noticed that he had seemed to flirt with every other woman that they passed. Rather, it had sounded and looked like flirting, and honestly, she was on  _ vacation _ here. That meant that a relationship just wasn’t  _ possible _ . That, she was fairly certain that relationships just wouldn’t work with  _ her _ .

With that depressive thought to start off her day, she descend down to the main floor in the elevator. She rubbed a hand over her face, belatedly wondering if it was too late to put her hair into a braid instead when the elevators dinged, informing her that she had arrived - she double checked with a glance - and then stepped out.

Of all the ways for her morning to start, she could say, for certain, that she was  _ not _ expecting a familiar voice to shout Japanese at her, much like how he had yesterday.

“Ohayō gozaimasu, o genki desu ka ?” Her eyes snapped open and, with her mouth dropping to gape as she took in the sight of the man that she had spent the entirety of yesterday with.

_ At least he’s wearing normal clothes today _ , she thought to herself as she took in Genji’s appearance. The headband was still there, as if it’s purpose was to keep his hair out of his face instead of broadcasting his love of a particular anime. He was wearing a normal shirt, a long sleeved one that fitted him rather well. She didn’t know what type of pants he was wearing, only that it wasn’t jeans or yoga pants, but if she  _ had _ to guess, it was probably a pair of slacks.

But he still wore a pair of Army boots, the lacings not even tied up this time.

He grinned cheekily at her as he walked over towards her. Briefly, panic set in, wondering how it was that he knew where to find her and she cursed herself for not taking Ducky’s advise and taken that can of pepper spray or at least buy some when she had first landed.

When he was close enough, Steph tensed, prepared for physical contact, but he just kept grinning at her, shoving his hands into his pockets and bent just enough at the waist so that they were eye level. “I did say we’d see each other around, I just didn’t think you’d make it so easy.”

Her temper flared and she had to grit her teeth to refrain from snarling out an insult at him. Instead, she settled for a mature response. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

Okay, not as mature as she was hoping it would sound, but the he jerked back in startlement was more than worth it.

He blinked a few times at her, as if he wasn’t used to being talked to in such a way before he pulled a hand out of his pocket, a piece of paper held between his fingers. Silently, he stood up to his normal height and held his hand out so that, with a twist of his wrist, she was able to see what the paper had on it.

She saw not only the name of the hotel and her room number, but she also saw her own handwriting.

“You dropped it, back at the ramen stand last night.” She couldn’t tell if he was lying about that, if only because she hadn’t checked her pockets after she had rejected him

Either way, she wanted to curse her own stupidity and she scowled at him. Even though the damage was already done, she still tried to snatch the piece of paper back from him. The grin was back on his face as he moved his hand so that it was not only above her head, but out of her reach.

This time she growled. “I will  _ kick  _ you.”

“And ruin the offer I’m about to make?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicion making her wary even as her temper and instincts demanded she show him that she wasn’t going to be easy prey for him to use and toss aside. “What offer?” she drawled out slowly. For now, she’d have to play nice, because for now, she didn’t want to make a scene.

For now.

This time the grin that he gave her was openly sheepish. “You see, today is the official beginning of a festival and…”

“And?” Steph wasn't in the mood to play games with him.

He sighed and rubbed the back of his head, not looking at her. “I… need you to pretend to be close to me for today. In exchange I will show you more of  _ Honshū _ , the festival, and anything else that might catch your attention.”

Narrowing her eyes at him, Steph couldn’t help the well of suspicion. “Why do you need me to pretend to be your girlfriend?” It was almost funny, watching him slowly flush.

“There is a part that has… become almost tradition. I'm not sure how it started, but I do know that there are more than a few that would… “ He looked at her as he trailed off. “Shall we just say that I would be in your debt if you… played along, yes?”

“That’s the right idiom for the situation, yes.” And Steph was tempted, more tempted than she should be, if she were honest, to try and get a few more concessions out of him… but there was only one thing that she wanted on top of what he was offering. “Throw in teaching me Japanese - speaking, reading, writing - on top of everything else you’re offering, and I’ll agree.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she spoke.

Genji blinked at her, stilling enough to almost be mistaken for a statute before he blinked again at her. “That is all you are going to ask of me?”

“Would you rather I make a list of pointless things before agreeing?”

He was silent for a long while, his expression blank and Steph almost felt uncomfortable. “You are not at all like the women I am used to.”

“I can still say ‘no’,” Steph deadpanned at him.

Immediately, he waved his hands in front of himself, a slightly panicked expression on his face. “No, no, that is fine! Shall we depart then?”

“After you tell me what that bit of Japanese you shouted at me was.”

“Eh?” Genji seemed confused at her statement before clarity washed over his face. “Oh! I said good morning, how are you?” He paused and watched her. “Do you not know those phrases?”

Steph sighed heavily at that, feeling her shoulders droop a bit. “If it’s said slowly I can recognize the words, but fast like that and it… goes over my head.”

“Ahh.” He drew that one word out with a small nod of his head, crossing his arms over his chest. “First lesson of the day then,” he said with a grin, leaning down so that they were, eye level. “You will want to say either  ‘yukkuri hanashite kudasai’ or ‘yukkuri itte kudasai’. But I would recommending using the first one.”

That grin did nothing for her confidence in him and Steph narrowed her eyes slightly at him, drawing backwards in slight suspicion. “Why?” she drawled out slowly. “What do those mean?”

If anything, Genji’s grin just widened. “They both mean ‘please speak slowly’.” He straightened and dropped his arms to his sides. “Now come! We have the whole day ahead of us!” As if it was going to be a pattern between them from here on out, he offered her his hand, a delighted grin on his face.

“I better not regret this.” Steph was fully resigned now to being stuck with him for at least today, and as such, she placed her hand in his, trying almost desperately to ignore the way his hand seemed to engulf hers when his fingers closed around her hand. Just like yesterday, he turned and took off the moment he had a firm grip on her hand.

At least she was expecting it this time.

Out of the hotel and down a few streets, it didn’t take very long before the routes he took had her thoroughly confused and lost in regards to where it was that they were going. The only thing that Steph could say, for certain, was that the people were getting more compacted together and the almost run that Genji had been at was now a sedate walk. 

A tug on her hand and a glance in her direction was all she needed to know that he wanted her to move closer. 

And she did.

The last thing she needed was to get lost in this crowd and be put at the whim and pity of whoever decided to try and help her out.

She had to push her way to Genji's side, but once there, the people around them both seem shift just enough so that there was just enough space that no one was shoving elbows into other bodies.

“Is it always this crowded?” The only festivals Steph had gone to before were the ones that were either local or small town ones that only those native to the area would have gone to.

“It's a festival!” She didn't have to look at him to tell he was grinning at her. “It's always crowded! It's the only time where no one cares who people are, just as long as they all get to have fun and enjoy everything!” 

“Sounds like an amusement park.” The way he described it made it seem that way at least.

For some reason, his laughter startled her. Startled her enough that she snapped her eyes to his face. Steph would be lying if she said he wasn't good looking, handsome even, but she was frequently reminding herself that he was a stranger to her, someone that she didn't know, and who seemed to only be interested in very little besides living life as if he was going to die at any moment.

It made her wonder if there was anything he running away from or trying to avoid.

Turning his gaze to her, mirth shined in his eyes. “I suppose America has those instead of festivals?” He grinned as he spoke, as if he wanted to make sure that she didn't take his words to be anything more than just a jest.

“Yeah, amusement parks or theme parks, sometimes carnivals since they travel.” 

“Something you do not like?”

“Huh?” Steph blinked at him. “What gave you that idea?”

Genji shrugged and suddenly he was pulling them both free from the crowd and Steph’s breath hitched as she got her first glimpse of just what this festival might be about. On either side of the sidewalk-like area they were on were larger cherry blossom trees. Soft, but bright pink flowers decorated each branch. Some of the petals were already dancing in a soft breeze, floating gently to the ground. On the way down they brushed against people, stands, and the occasional stroller before landing on the ground.

It might seem something plain, but it was the  _ way _ the branches, swaying lightly with flowers seemed to move, along with the way that the petals themselves seemed to fall from the branches and float towards the ground that held a beauty to it.

“The way you talk… it does not sound as if you enjoy them.” His voice was soft, gentle even and she looked at him. His hand loosened around hers and she felt his fingers shift just enough so that he was able to thread his between her own. “Today is the… in English it is called ‘Cherry Blossom Festival’. Do you see why I wanted to bring you here today?”

“It’s beautiful… but I don’t understand why it’s a festival.” She saw him sigh, as if he had just shown her something important, something that shouldn’t  _ need _ to be explained and she had missed the whole of it.

“The  _ sakura _ are symbolic. They remind us that life is short, too short for regrets and that we should live life to its fullest.” There was something about his words, the tone he used that…

Steph stopped, forcing him to stop as well and when he looked at her, curiosity on his face, she hesitated. His lips parted, as if to ask her what was wrong when he seemed to freeze, his eyes suddenly going passed her and his features tightened, as if he saw someone he would rather not speak to.

“Who-?” She didn’t get to finish the question because Genji was suddenly looking at her, grinning widely, eyes almost closed. Vaguely, she realized that he was forcing a smile and it was only because she was mentally repeating the mantra of ‘remember the deal, remember the deal, remember the deal’ inside her head that she didn’t stop him or pull away when he leaned down, his intention more than clear.

Whatever she was expecting to feel from, the almost chaste touch of his lips against hers - it was so slight that she wouldn’t call it a kiss, but also too light to be called a press - certainly wasn’t it. If Steph were honest, she wanted to press further into it, as if part of her found this barely-there contact to be closer to an insult than just keeping to a deal that they had made before leaving her hotel. In fact, if she were honest, that idle thought was more of an impulsive urge. Considering how many times he had surprised her just yesterday and today alone, she wanted to return the favor, wanted to startle him. 

The only thing holding her back was that she didn’t want to give him even a hint of an idea that she wanted to encourage his advances.

When his arm slipped around her waist, loosely holding her close to him, she felt her instincts, for once, agree with her thoughts.

_ Screw him and his teasing. _ Her hands came up, sliding up his chest to loosely rest behind his neck where her fingers twined together. She took a small step closer to, feeling her chest bump into his and heard his slight sound of surprise. Tilting her head just a bit, she fully pressed their lips together and couldn’t help the slow smile when she felt his hands grip her hips.

From an outside perspective, it probably looked as if she had turned a simple, quick kiss into a makeout session, but from what little she knew of romantic relationships - Steph would admit that she hadn’t been in many, finding that the men she had dated were far too interested in getting into her bed or her into theirs, and the women she had tried to date were far more interested in drama, gossip, or fashion that anything that might have been had just… fizzled out - she would bet that anyone looking at them would assume she had probably started playing tonsil hockey with him.

A soft growl rumbled in his chest and his fingers tightened on her hips, sending a shot up her spine and instinct screamed at her - telling and showing her that she had jabbed a sleeping dragon in the  _ eye _ \- and she quickly broke the kiss, feeling him try to chase her. To make sure that another kiss wouldn’t happen, she tucked her head into the hollow of his throat and moved her hands down to his chest, pressing just slightly against him.

She heard an almost frustrated sound come from his throat, but he pulled away. There was a sound behind her and she turned. Behind her was a woman, dressed up as if she were going to something important - and maybe that’s half of what this festival was. Steph wouldn’t say for certain, but she would be interrogating Genji about it later - and her eyes were wide.

Steph heard Genji say something, the flavor and tempo of Japanese flowing from him and vibrated through his chest. The woman's eyes snapped to him and Japanese fluttered out of her, hurt coloring the words.

Genji responded, his tone almost bland and dismissive, even as Steph felt a hand curl around her waist and pull her just a little closer. Pain and hurt flickered over the woman’s face before it quickly twisted into anger and she spat something in Japanese.

This close to Genji, she felt him bristle and tense, a low snarl of Japanese shot out of him and tears bloomed in the woman’s eyes. A turn and a tug and Genji was leading her down the pavement. His hand was hot on her hip and he was still tense, silently seething at whatever had transpired between him and the woman.

“Do I want to know?” Steph said it softly, as if she wasn’t certain if she wanted to bring his attention to herself or not.

He still had her close to himself, and it was because she was close to that she felt his muscles roll and flex in a way that reminded her of the way snakes moved.

“She was… one of the reasons why I asked what I did of you.” Immediately, her instincts whispered that there were others like that woman. Others that would try to approach Genji, would see  _ her _ , and what she saw would simply be repeated.

Part of her said that this just confirmed her initial assessment of him: he was a player, a playboy, one that would use and leave women as he saw fit. Another part of her argued that she didn’t know him, the only true fact she knew  _ about _ him was his name as he responded to it easily enough and, even with a thick accent, the woman had called him by name.

“I see.” She didn’t. And yet at the same time she did. Instinct didn’t agree, insisted that she leave him to the consequences of his own actions.

“I did not intend to kiss you, merely make it seem as if I did.” There was something in his voice, and from the way he sounded, Steph could tell that he was looking at her.

“I figured it was supposed to be a stage kiss.” Somehow she managed to make it sound bland, as if she didn’t care for how innocent his intentions had been.

He made a sound that seemed some sort of cross between a hiss, a sigh, and a muffled, if muted, scream of frustration. She wanted to smile, to laugh at the response her words evoked from him, but at the same time she didn’t want to.

A lifetime of forced habit kept her expression neutral and it didn’t feel as if she gave away her thoughts.

“Then why did you? Kiss me that is.” Something tinged his words, but it wasn’t frustration.

“...I don’t know. Impulse I guess.” Steph turned her head to look at him, saw the way he watched her with an intensity that wanted to make her squirm and had her instincts wanting her to bare her teeth at him in warning.

“You… do not strike me as the impulsive type.”

“Because I’m not.” A lifetime’s worth of discipline and punishments had made it so.

“Then why-?”

“What does it matter, Genji? There won’t be a repeat.” She didn’t understand why he was trying to fixate on the kiss. It was a bad, impulsive decision and if she could go back in time, she’d stop herself from kissing him.

They walked in silence for a bit after that, passing by families and couples having picnics under the trees and then they started to come up to the street vendors that had set up close by. As if to remind her that she had, once again, forgotten to eat breakfast, her stomach gave a soft rumble once her brain registered the smell of food.

She was, apparently, not the only one that heard it because Genji chuckled, his body finally relaxing. It was only then that Steph realized he still had a hand on her hip and she wanted to scowl.

“Lunch sounds good, yes?” He was teasing her. She knew he was teasing her and instead of feeling the usual annoyance when someone teased her, all she felt was an almost curious urge to halfheartedly elbow him in the side.

“Don’t laugh. You’re the reason I didn’t have breakfast.” Somehow she managed to make it come out as an almost joke and it was only after she said it that she wondered if he would take it as an insult.

As if he knew that, Genji tossed his head back and laughed light and airy. “That is true, isn’t it?” He turned his head towards her, a grin on his face. “I did not mean to keep you from a meal.”


	4. Genji

Among the  _ yatai _ stands were more than a few varieties of things that Genji knew she had never truly had before. It amazed him at how she she seemed to study all the items that each  _ yatai _ offered, as if she were looking at fine gems or silk fabrics in various colors.

He wanted to pick something for her, to see if she would trust him enough to get something for her. In the back of his mind he heard his dragon scoff at him and Genji couldn’t help but send along a question, to openly wonder why his dragon thought it would be such a bad idea.

_ Females do not trust males. Especially if they know the male’s intention is to plant his seed in them. _ Genji managed, somehow, not to flush at his dragon’s rather blunt words.

_ Yes, I want to sleep with her, but you’re the one that suggested it! _ He kept his gaze on Stephanie, watching her cruise… no, there was something to her movements that was not a cruise, but neither was it a stalk. 

If his dragon could, Genji was certain he would have been given an eye roll.  _ I did not suggest mating. I said it would help with her soul. _

That sobered him and he looked at the strange, but intriguing, woman at his side. If there was ever a time when he wished he could see what Inju could see, now was one of them. Hearing his thoughts - they shared a mind. Genji would honestly be surprised if his dragon  _ didn’t _ know what he was thinking at any given moment of the day - Inju turned his own attention to the woman.

_ I see her now. _

_ Did you not see her yesterday? _

_ I saw her through your eyes, but today  _ I _ see her. _

Well, that sounded good. Promising even, and he felt some tension disappear from himself. He still wanted to know what it was that could cause a soul to shred to the point that his dragon wouldn’t be able to see it though.

_ I see her, but she is still shredded. The edges are… more distinct. Different from the things around her… but I do not like the color of it. _

Genji blinked, even as he watched Stephanie approach one of the  _ yatai _ stands, looking far more interested in what this one had compared to the others that they had passed by.  _ Colors? _ This was the first he had ever heard of souls having colors.

His dragon gave off a long suffering sigh and he felt pressure on his right shoulder, a sign that his dragon was resting his head there.  _ Souls have colors. Beautiful colors. Shredded souls lack color. Her soul… does and does not have color. Badly bruised. _

_ Souls can be bruised? _

_ Yes.  _ There was a tone to that one word, one that Genji had only ever heard on the off chance he had managed to truly anger his father to the point his father’s dragons started to manifest; unease. That alone made him start to tense again, and he focused on Stephanie again, making sure that she was in sight. So far, she was attempting to make conversation with the  _ yatai _ owner, attempting to make it clear with her broken Japanese what it was she wanted.

_ What can bruise a soul? _ Genji wasn’t sure if he wanted to know, but the woman had caught his attention, and he was loathe to leave this bit of curiosity unanswered.

_ Prolonged maltreatment. Severe maltreatment. Lack of life. Lack of will  _ for _ life. Never ending sorrow. Many others, none good. _ None of it  _ sounded _ good and even as he watched Stephanie almost proudly claim her prize of yet another  _ dango _ stick - rather, she now had five sticks, the sixth immediately being half held in her mouth - before she started to make her way towards him, triumph in her eyes.

But everything his dragon described translated to other terms, human terms, inside his mind. Abuse, severe abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts… perhaps a few other things that he didn’t know about, but at this point he was willing to believe that, even if he  _ didn’t _ know about it, he still knew that it was dangerous.

He grinned at Stephanie when she finally stood in front of him, munching on the  _ dango _ she was holding in her mouth and holding three in one hand and two in the other. His eyes, however, was focused on her mouth and the sudden devilish gleam in her eyes.

Somehow she was keeping the  _ dango _ in her mouth, even as she was consuming it. His groin twitched and his mouth dried as his body registered what his mind was refusing to believe. 

Her lips moved carefully on the  _ dango _ , drawing it into her mouth while her teeth no doubt nipped off bits and pieces of it. Part of the  _ dango _ was too far down the stick to be able to safely pull into her mouth. He was expecting her to use her fingers and hands to get that last piece off, but instead he watched her lips and jaws work, watched the stick go from being vertical to slowly moving into a horizontal position. He wanted to groan at her blant, almost unashamed flirting and teasing, but he was also making sure to keep himself rooted, to not grab her and take her into the nearest dark spot and just  _ take _ her.

His dragon just laughed, as if there was something funny about this slow almost torture that Genji was being subjected to.

An innocent expression was on her face now, as if she didn’t know what she had just done to him and she held up two of  _ dango _ sticks, offering them to him. “Want some?” 

She was far too cheerful and Genji had to work his tongue inside his mouth just to get it wet enough to make a response. “Since you are so graciously offering.” He accepted the two sticks and didn’t look down at them as he took a bite from one.

Chances were high that he wouldn’t be able to look at  _ dango _ the same way again after this.

In all honesty, he hadn’t been expecting this sort of action from her. At all. From what he had learned about her yesterday, she seemed to be reserved, wanting to keep everyone and everything at a physical distance. 

And yet today she had kissed him. Not only that, but she had made more than just slightly suggestive actions with  _ dango _ of all things! The memory of the kiss still sent fire down his body.

The feel of her body, deceptively soft and curvaceous underneath the layers she wore, pressed against his, her hands, warm and soft with just the faintest hint of calluses, coming up to rest behind his neck. And then her lips… soft and wind chapped, but warm, had pressed against his own in such a way that seemed as if she had  _ demanded _ his attention, his affection, while also challenging him in the same action.

It had startled him, but also thrilled him. None of the women he had been with had ever challenged him, whether it was just from a simple kiss or after he managed to get them into a bed and started to have with way with them. 

And then she had broken the kiss before he had the chance to respond and then Naomi had startled to demand he ‘return’ to her, had claimed to love him, would love him in a way that ‘his foreigner’ wouldn’t be able to.

He had responded by saying he didn’t want love, simply wanted to enjoy life and everything it had to offer. She, in return, had insulted him, had insulted Stephanie, and he hadn’t been able to let that slide.

_ You wish to mate with her, as you had with the others. _

_ Can you blame me? She’s different enough that I’m interested, but difficult enough that I’m not immediately looking for a secluded spot. _

_ Why bed every female you see? _

_ Because life is too short to be celibate for it all.  _

_ And yet you will not be able to bed her. _ Genji wanted to scowl, but because Stephanie was right in front of him, he refrained. The dragons were a secret that did not leave the clan and he couldn’t let her think that there was another living being housed inside his body.

“Well, you held up your end of our little deal, what is it you shall ask of me?” He tried to be funny, if only to see if his antics would have any sort of reaction on her soul, but her expression gave away nothing to him.

She tilted her head at him, almost looking as if she were questioning her own dragon on what to do from here and he couldn’t help but acknowledge the slight thrill that thought gave him.

“Know any museums, hiking trails, nature parks, or the like?”

Of all the things for a woman to ask him… that, any of that, was not within the Top 10 things he would have thought she’d ask for.

_ She is not what you are used to. Does not know you are a Shimada. _

_ Do you believe that would make a difference? _ If that was all it took to get someone  _ interesting _ to be near him that wasn’t a clan member, then he would have to try it with the next woman… provided that she didn’t already know who he was. Genji would fully admit that he had probably slept halfway through  _ Honshū _ and such a tactic probably wouldn’t work on the next woman.

But still, he had some of the other island of Japan he could work with, and even if he didn’t, he had the rest of the world to go after.

“There is a museum near here.” It was one of decent size, having been remodelled some decades ago for one reason or the other. Genji hadn’t been interested in it, still wasn’t, but he knew where it was only because his father had once taken both him and his brother there before coming to this festival some years ago.

“Let’s go then.”

_ You will not be bedding her tonight. _ Genji gave into the urge to scowl, only doing so because her back was turned towards him.

_ I will find someone at a bar then. _

_ As you failed to do last night? _

_ Hey! Everyone would have been taken already then! _ Inju rumbled in amusement and Genji gave a soft sigh, increasing the length of his strides just enough so that he was at her side. Feeling bold and somewhat encouraged by her actions through the morning, he wrapped an arm around her waist, placing his hand on her hip.

She was tense under his arm, and he couldn’t help but move his thumb against her through her jeans. “Why do you want to see the museum?” It was an easy enough conversation starter and it would also serve to let him learn more about her.

“I like museums. You can learn all sorts of fun facts from them.” She shrugged as she said it and Genji felt some of the tension leave her form as she spoke, as if the mere mention of museums brought up some fond memory.

_ The bruise is fading. Slightly. Noticeable only if one is looking. _ And his dragon  _ was  _ looking.

“What’s so great about looking at things that just collect dust?” Museums, really? Why not a bar or a club or some other thing where he could show off what he knew or how he had fun?

Stephanie shrugged and he saw a soft, barely there smile. “You’ve never been to the part of museums that I enjoy.” She turned him and this time she grinned. It startled him, just how carefree she looked when she did so. “And all museums have a section that I enjoy.”

Well, that sounded promising. At the very least the trip to the museum would at least be interesting. 

_ You do not believe you will enjoy it. _

_ No, I don’t think so, but I will humor her. What else is at a museum other than statues of people long dead, replicas of the past, and a few artifacts here and there? _

_ You want to better your chances of bedding her. _ Genji rolled his eyes at Inju’s comment. Yes, he wanted to bed the woman currently at his side. She would be just another notch on his belt and it’d help her soul - a win-win deal if he ever saw one - so why did anything else beyond that matter? All the time he was spending with her was just another way to get close enough that she wouldn’t object to him sliding into her bed.

_ She is not the type to welcome you into her nest. _ Genji’s lips twitched at that. It sounded very much like a challenge.  _ It is not. You will be better off bedding other women instead of her. _ Genji wanted to hum, even as he led the way towards the museum. 

With the training he had, he didn’t need to pay attention to where it was that they were going, simply had to make sure that they didn’t walk straight into traffic. His attention was on his dragon and the words he had just uttered.

_ You know something. _

_ Her soul is shredded, but colored enough to see a truth. A truth you should already know of based on her actions. _ He felt Inju turn away from him, effectively ending the conversation. It did not, however, end what it sparked in his thoughts. Merely confirmed it.

Part of him wanted to cheer, to strive all that harder to seduce her. Who else would be a better first lover than him? He who knew how to make a woman’s toes curl to have even the shyest one screaming his name or digging their nails into his back.

The other part of him, however, wanted to bash his head into a wall, to walk away from this attempt while nothing was invested. While he would like nothing more to be her first, he had learned from the last time he was a woman’s first. They got  _ clingy _ , got  _ ideas _ , and then it became a struggle to get them to let  _ go _ .

Naomi was a prime example of that. As was Hana before her, and Niko before  _ her _ . Even if they didn’t cling, they tried to stay in his life, to try and get the Shimada name because they thought it would bring them certain benefits.

He wouldn’t wish the Shimada name, it’s expectations, it’s  _ burdens _ onto anyone.

And yet he wouldn’t deny that having another companion at his side wasn’t something he would mind. But again, having such a companion would mean binding them to the Shimada name, to the clan. There was a reason, after all, that despite all of his so called ‘carelessness’ there had yet to be an illegitimate Shimada born.

Inju poked him back to awareness and Genji blinked, realizing that, in just a few more steps, they would have reached the museum. A glance at Stephanie showed that she had long since finished off her three sticks of  _ dango _ and he had finished off his own two sticks. When he had actually eaten the  _ dango _ , he couldn’t recall, but he plucked the sticks from Stephanie’s hand, as well as his own, and tossed them into the nearest bin outside of the museum. There was little need to carry the useless sticks, especially into a museum where everyone would be scowling in disapproval at the mere sight of them.

Though, since today was the opening day of one of the first local festivals of the year, chances were rather high that the museum wouldn’t be as crowded as he remembered it being the last few times he had been dragged here.

As expected, the staff seemed to glower at them when they walked in through the glass front doors, their expressions never changing even when he paid the admission fee for the both of them - he pretended not to hear Stephanie’s muttered protests of being able to pay her own admission, just as he pretended not to see a twist of approval and disapproval war on the receptionist’s face at hearing the English words - and it took a good bit of self-restraint to simply guide them both down the nearest hallway.

“Why did you wish to come here?” It didn’t escape his notice that she was looking for something specific. He knew this because he could see her eyes darting around and she had set the pace to be more of a distance eating stride.

“Every museum, save for the art museums, have one particular exhibit that I could spend hours in.” She paused and Genji waited, sensing that she wasn’t done speaking quite yet. “I used to spend a couple hours in museums when I lived close to one. They were a… friendly place, for a kid that couldn’t figure out how to make friends.”

“You couldn’t make friends?” As someone that thrived on social interactions, Genji couldn’t understand how someone… couldn’t make friends. His brother wasn’t social, but that seemed to be something of a choice and less of an actual  _ problem _ with interacting with people.

“They thought me to be too much like an adult, and I found them too childish to be around for longer than necessary.” It was a casual comment, an almost careless one, but it told Genji one thing rather clearly.

She had given him another insight, another clue, as to why her soul was shredded.

That, and a possible insight into his own brother, but he would have figured that part out sooner or later.

“And which exhibit are you looking for?” They had passed by science exhibits, had just gone through the historical section, and now it seemed as if she was slowing done, some mental GPS saying that they were close.

“You’ll think me odd if I say it.” Genji had to do a double take, to confirm that he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

“Are you blushing?” He couldn’t keep the grin out of his voice and, yep, there it was! The faint pink was rapidly turning into a dark red that not only went up to her ears -  _ Inju, look! She has multiple piercings! I didn’t notice before!  _ \- but also creeped down what he could see of her neck.

“No.” His grin widened and he darted in front of her, twisting on the balls of his feet so that she walked straight into his chest with a cute yelp. Before she could take a step back and turn away, or otherwise hide her face from him, Genji grabbed her upper arm with one hand and her chin in the other, forcing her to look up at him.

“You  _ are _ !” He cooed out, delighted as he watched the blush darken even further. The scowl she directed at him made him want to laugh. With her face as red as it was the scowl was more comical than threatening and he wanted to place his hands on her face, to pinch her cheeks and show her just how funny this was.

“Genji, I will  _ kick _ you!” She hissed like a dragon at him and, grinning, Genji released her, raising his hands in surrender. A laugh bubbled in his chest and he wanted to let it out. It was funny to him, that she would get so defensive about whatever it was she was trying to lead them towards.

“Our deal will void if you do.” He couldn’t help the sing-song notes to his words, and this time she bared her teeth at him.

“Our deal only involved me  _ pretending _ to be your current girlfriend. It did  _ not _ cover anything I would consider doing as self-defense from  _ you _ .” That had him pausing and before she could stalk passed him, he had his hand around her arm and was pulling her off to the side. To a corner, really, where they could speak without anyone  _ wanting _ to overhear them.

“Do you believe I would harm you?” All the fun and laughter he had felt just a few moments earlier was gone as he looked down at her. Inju stirred uneasily in his mind, not enjoying what she had implied about Genji’s character. If he were honest, Genji would have liked to believe that some progress had been made between them, that she would at least trust him enough to get her through a full day in Japan without incident.

Instead, she was looking at him with slightly narrowed eyes, the flush rapidly fading as if she were able to will it away. “Barely twenty-four hours, Genji. That is how long I have known you. You used me to hurt a woman not even an  _ hour _ ago, had your hands constantly  _ on _ me, just to name a  _ few _ . I’ve met nice people that have punched me in the face the moment I relaxed around them, and harsh people trip me just because it amused them. To sum it up and answer your question: if it got you what you wanted, yes, I think you would. Right now is a very good example.”

_ What? _

His confusion must have shown, because all she did was flex her arm. It was only when he felt the muscles try to move that he realized how tight his grip was, that he hadn’t yet let go, and he immediately released her.

Genji watched her take a step back, away from him, and rub her arm. “I did not mean-”

“You might not  _ mean _ to, but past experience has taught me to not allow others to touch me, because pain  _ will _ follow.” Inju paced in his mind and Genji sighed, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Then why not say so? I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.” The more he heard the more he wanted to walk away, but at the same time the urge to get a drink was increasing. 

“People don’t normally listen to what I say.” He heard her shrug and Genji wanted to grab her arms and shake her, to try and see if she would gain some sense from it. 

_ I do not advise that. _ Well it wasn’t like he was  _ actually _ going to shake her! Not after hearing that!  _ You wish to. Perhaps remind her why you are both here? _

Oh yeah, they had been heading somewhere specific in the museum, weren’t they?

“What were you trying to find here?” Stephanie blinked at him, as if the sudden topic change took a moment to process. When it did, he watched several emotions flicker over her face before it cleared and her throat bobbed, just slightly, as she gathered herself.

“The prehistoric section.”

Now it was Genji’s turn to blink, trying to figure out why she wanted to see a bunch of dead things that were either just bones or replicas of what they thought something might look like.

She squirmed under his gaze, turning her head away from him. “I like prehistoric animals, okay? They’re cute.”

“Dogs and puppies are cute. Bones are not cute.” Her lips twitched at that.

“You’re not being creative.” She looked at him, a slight upturn of her lips the only sign of her amusement. “That, or you’ve never seen  _ Jurassic Park _ .”

“What?” There was a strong sense of amusement from Inju now, as if the dragon suddenly understood what it was Stephanie wanted to see. It was all going over his head and Genji frowned at her, watching her amusement fade to incredulity. “What does a movie about failed science have to do with the museum?”

“You poor, sad, deprived  _ child _ . You need to watch it. All of it.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke, as if she were plotting a movie night - he wouldn’t object. Especially not if it meant he wouldn’t have to go back to a silent estate where disapproval seemed to seep from every crack - before it dimmed. 

This time, she was the one to grab his hand and lead him through the people. For once, his longer legs got in the way of a smooth gait and he cursed softly in Japanese before he got his footing back, matched her stride, and looked around at the walls that they were passing.

People being preyed on by lions with giant fangs, replicas of a depiction of people harvesting meat from a downed, large, furry animal, and a few other, similar things were passed by. He noticed her strides were increasing, as if she were getting excited, that they were getting close to whatever objective she had in picked.

He saw it long before they stopped and he couldn’t help the jolt that went through him. 

Before him was a massive skull, brown with age. Even with all the large, gaping holes in it, he still, somehow, knew where it’s eyes were. As if that wasn’t enough, the skull contained teeth. Large teeth. A single fang looked as if it could easily puncture through his hand! 

The massive head was attached to an equally massive body, and it was only when his eyes were following it’s arching spine that he realized someone had decided to have this massive creature arched down, to make it look as if it was about to start eating the skeleton that laid under it.

“Stunning, isn’t it?” Genji tore his eyes away from the massive skeleton in order to look at Stephanie. Her eyes weren’t on the bones, but on him, taking in his reaction. It must have pleased him because there was a slight smugness to her features.

“What?” He wanted to turn his eyes back towards it, to keep it where he could see it. Something about it, about the skeleton, made him want to run. But that didn’t make sense, it was a dead. The proof of that was so easily seen that it made him want to laugh at his own ridiculousness.

“It’s a Tyrannosaurid. Related to the famous T-rex.” She turned her gaze to the skeleton, and that’s when Genji saw it. The fondness, the awe, the adoration for the giant, dead creature. “Among the adult specimens, the larger ones are believed to be female.”

“You like this…” Genji couldn’t articulate what he wanted to say about this creature.

“I like prehistoric things. Specifically, I like dinosaurs.” Her expression softened as she watched the skeleton. “Look a bit like wingless dragons, don’t they?”

“Western ones, perhaps.” He didn’t see it, but if he could picture skin covering those bones, maybe he would understand.

“Dinosaurs and dragons… but only one of them were real.”

_ Perhaps I should be introduced to her? _

_ I do not believe I would be able to convince the clan it was an accident if you do. _


End file.
